Pleasant Grove Baptist Church of Neese, Georgia

By Amy Tolbert

In this case CIA stands for Children In Action, which is the Wednesday night program for older children (7–9 and 10–12) of our church. In this class we learn many interesting things about different missionaries who serve in many parts of the world. We learn about the cultures that they live in and the peoples they serve. We play games and make crafts to help us remember scripture. Sometimes we even learn bits of foreign languages.

From time to time we take a break from our CIA curriculum and we focus on more local mission work and even try to do some of our own mission projects. For example, we learned about the campus ministers who serve at the Baptist Collegiate Ministries on the UGA campus. We read about an artist who presents the whole gospel by painting pictures to music while a captivated audience watches. This past Wednesday we delivered cookies, tracts, and a Bible to the EMS workers at the Hull station.

But alas, our class has become very small… but we are not giving up hope! We are planning some events to enable us to recruit more kids to the team. Please pray that the Lord will bless our Wednesday night class. If you know any children who would be interested in joining us, please invite them; they will be very welcome.

By Gail Lester

Wednesday evening during the mid-week prayer service, if you go downstairs to the bright yellow hallway with the many colored doors and follow the sounds, you will find a room with pre-school and early elementary age children having fun in a group called Mission Friends.

The children are becoming aware of God’s love for them and for others who need to hear the good news that God loves them also! They learn about mission work in North America and throughout the world. Each month they are introduced to a different missionary in a different area of the country. This month they are learning about the Spain family. The following came from the Start, the Mission Friends teaching guide:

Derek and Kim Spain, with their children Grant, Andrew, and Emma Grace, live in Lake Placid, New York, where Derek serves as a resort missionary with the North American Mission Board. He coordinates special ministries for the Baptist Convention of New York, pastors Lake Placid Baptist church, and directs North Country Ministries. As resort ministry consultant, Derek helps churches learn ways to share the gos­pel with people in the resort and sports settings. As pastor, he does what other pastors do, teaching, preaching, and ministering to people in the community. As director of North Country Ministries, he coordinates various ministries to share Christ with Olympic athletes, coaches, and spectators. Missionaries always need our prayers and the Spains are no different. Their prayer requests are: (1) that God will draw athletes to Bible study at the Olympic Training Center; (2) that God will continue to open doors to share the gospel at sports events; (3) that God will continue to grow Lake Placid Baptist Church as they reach out into the community; and (4) that the Spain family will rise to the challenge of living in a community that focuses on sports and tourism.

Is not the festive season when families and friends exchange gifts in memory of The Gift laid on the altar of the world for the redemption of the human race, the most appropriate time… to send forth the good tidings of great joy into all the earth?

Lottie Moon’s words above describe the actions of our church in the month of December. Through your generous giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, we are enabling the International Mission Board to send forth good tidings of great joy through the many Southern Baptist missionaries all over the world.
The women of the Pleasant Grove WMU are grateful for a pastor and church with a heart for missions.